Grenadier's father was a trumpet player in World War II army bands and later in Europe but stopped playing professionally before his children were born. Grenadier began on trumpet when he was in
fifth grade, before beginning to play the bass the following year. Grenadier's brothers played trumpet and guitar. Grenadier's father helped introduce him to the instruments and music theory. Larry's older brother Phil began listening to jazz around this time, influencing his sibling's musical interests. Grenadier began listening to several jazz bassists, including
Ray Brown,
Charles Mingus,
Richard Davis,
Paul Chambers,
Wilbur Ware, and
Oscar Pettiford, among others. At age 12 Grenadier began formal study of the acoustic bass, learning from local jazz bass players Chris Poehlor, Paul Breslin, and
Frank Tusa and later classical bassists Michael Burr and Stephen Tramontozzi. At 16, Grenadier had a busy career playing in the San Francisco Bay Area with both local musicians and those traveling through town in need of a bass player. These musicians included Harvey Wainapel,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Joe Henderson, Larry Vuckovitch,
Eddie Henderson,
Bruce Forman,
Eddie Marshall,
Vince Lateano,
George Cables,
Donald Bailey,
Toots Thielmans,
Johnny Griffin,
Charles McPherson, and
Frank Morgan, among others. Grenadier studied at
Stanford University and graduated in 1989 with a
bachelor's degree in English literature. At Stanford, he met
Stan Getz, with whom he toured. ==Career==